"I was a star Premier League striker - but I hated the fame" - Sordell on life in the fast lane

The former Bolton and Burnley striker struggled with the limelight

Becoming a Premier League player is a dream for millions of children growing up. It looks like a perfect life: the glitz, the glamour, the fast cars and big houses. Plus, you get to strut your stuff on the biggest stage of all against the best players in the world.

But the reality is often rather different. Speaking to Love Sport Radio, former Bolton and Watford striker Marvin Sordell said he thought his dream had come true when he signed for the Trotters in a £3m deal - but it quickly turned into a nightmare.

"I went from a situation at Watford where we just trying to stay up in the Championship. No one really expected us to do anything, so there wasn't really any massive pressure".

"It was the complete opposite of a dream move. I couldn't just purely enjoy playing without pressure. I went from Watford to overnight becoming a star player for a Premier League team, a big club in a relegation battle, and I'm an England U21 international. All of a sudden, the pressures were completely different

"You expect something completely different from those two players, and that change was really hard to deal with. I moved up North all on my own, and the spotlight was on me".

"I couldn't live my life the way I was used to. I remember going to Nandos and just trying to have a quiet dinner, and you've got kids coming up to you and people taking photos. I wasn't used to it, it wasn't easy, and in the end it wasn't the right thing for me. I thought 'if this is what playing in the Premier League means, then I don't want to be a Premier League player".

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